Update, October 2026: this lounge was renovated in 2019
JAL reopened a renovated First Class lounge at Narita in April 2019, with more seating and dishes ordered at a counter instead of the buffet I describe below (TPG, January 2020). My review and photos are of the lounge as it was in 2014.
A quick trip to Taipei (2014)
I arrived at Tokyo Narita (NRT) airport after my 3+ hour flight from Taipei and wanted to head straight for the lounge. Even though the previous flight was a regional Business Class flight, I was actually traveling on an AA First Class award for 67.5K, which means my next flight was in JAL’s 777 Sky Suite. That means I get access to the JAL First Class Sakura Lounge during my short layover.
Unfortunately the lounge attendants were all pretty adamant that no pictures were allowed in the lounge, and they also happened to outnumber the actual customers in the lounge, so the pictures I got are somewhat limited. It should still be plenty to get a good idea of the lounge though.
The Lounge
The lounge was good-sized for a First Class Lounge, and it seems like I was traveling at a non-peak time this afternoon so it was also fairly empty. There were plenty of seating areas and a decent view of a couple of gates.
There was also a small business center with computers and a printer, plus some desks. It seemed a bit dark as a work area but at least there were some desk lamps.
There was also a “massage room” with massage chairs similar to the ones you’ll find at the spa in the Concorde Room or in the Asiana Business Class lounge at ICN…and tons of other airports. I think these chairs are underrated for being free!
The Food
And finally, the food. I find that there are two things that usually set a First Class Lounge apart from a Business Class Lounge: space (as in a less densely populated lounge) and superior food. Unfortunately, this lounge had a lounge spread that was extremely dull, and while better than the JAL Business Class Lounge at TPE, was still extremely lackluster.
There were a variety of drink options, but since I don’t drink alcohol it didn’t make much of a difference to me.
I was really disappointed in the food here. Not only were there only a few hot food options, but the ones that they had were pretty old and not very good. The sushi selection looked impressive but I didn’t like any of them. It was really disappointing and I couldn’t wait to get on my flight, where I just knew there would be better food (and there was).
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